Wednesday, December 30, 2009

copper, stone, horn...and perhaps something moor

neolithic-nouveau.
I recently stumbled across these figurines, featured in an article from 'Archeology' magazine. I've hardly been able to tear my thoughts away. Sculpture has frequently been used as a medium of metamorphosis, no one can argue that. From it's earliest fathoms to the introduction of metal as an implement for creation, then beyond that to the modern monoliths we erect daily, the passionate need to etch, carve & construct ourselves into time has driven countless cultures...

The proportions and pose of each of these pieces is suggestive and alluring, the man seated, almost woe begotten & pensive, the female reclined, hands clasped, seemingly hyper-aware in her posture, knowing & voluptuous. Dated from 5000-4600 BC., these statuettes were birthed from Copper Era Romania, whose enormous villages rivaled Mesopotamia's earliest cities in size. Moldova, Romania & Bulgaria are renowned in the West for having inspired the widely held belief that ancient Europeans were goddess worshipers...These pieces called to mind the haunting Cycladic figures of Aegean fame which are testament to the cyclic lure of art throughout history.

"Expressive ceramic figurines in the 'thinking' pose are particularly striking, and eerily prefigure modern art"- Eric Powell (from the trenches)


and then...

Rich-in-Craft's 'Folie à Deux ' collection is hyper-magnifique...WANT. But...at $600 a bag, there's nary a one in my immediate future to be had. Which is not to say the cost is unwarranted - the craftsmanship is superb, they are conceptually ambrosial, and I'd rock them all the live-long day. Amen.


in closing...


My husband & I have been fawning over Veronica Webb's dwelling in Key West, Florida since it's 'Architectural Digest' feature last March...

"If it were not overlooking a coconut-palm-fringed canal, the lavish if modestly scaled pleasure palace that New York designer Todd Black created as Veronica Webb’s family retreat in Key West would surely be taken at first glance for a royal pavilion in Marrakech or Taroudannt in Morocco. The docile manatees grazing in the canal, however, place it firmly in South Florida, where it is tucked away in a tropical paradise of a garden that includes mangoes, papayas, pineapples, yellow frangipanis, a diverse collection of palms and 45 varieties of orchids colorfully perched on the 100-year-old trees that populate their recently transfigured surroundings."

Ms. Webb goes on to talk about the creative process, including the importation of a number of authentic Moroccan craftsmen who stayed on over a year to compose fine, intricate tile-work, the amazing wooden rawshans pocketing portals throughout the home and miles of sophisticated, labyrinthine stonework. She bases her initial delight in Moorish design from time spent with elusive Tunisian-born couturier and master leatherman Azzedine "Dress to Kill" Alaïa (yum) during the height of her model days....

I'm in love with it - despite the fact that it's location is a bit undesirable (in my opinion). Key West makes sense for them due to the fact that George Robb, Webb's husband is an avid shipwreck culture enthusiast & founder of the RPM Nautical Foundation, which is headquartered there. I was equally impressed with Webb's choice of installation art on such a large scale, which blends seamlessly into the surrounding opulence of her living room. Teresita Fernández’s 'Blue Haze' is so remarkably stunning!

...want an authentic architectural slice of this heaven?

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